Solitude and Salvation
by Alienor
Summary: Yearning for freedom, a free spirited young girl escapes the oppressions of a noble life and finds herself immersed in the dark sides of Tortall as she searches for happiness.
1. Forward

**Forward:**

The characters in the story you're about to read are mostly my own brainchildren. You may notice that some of the characters have been used in other stories published at this site; they are used with my permission and are property of me. If details vary from those other stories, I beg creative license. 

For being only a piece of fan fiction, I've put an obscene amount of effort into writing it. I've researched the main elements of the story and worked to make every detail fit. Though the story is innocent in the beginning, as Raquel gets older, her life takes twists that demand an R rating. With that in mind, please read this story with caution. 

Writing this story has been a matter of getting the words down on paper. I'd like to thank a few people for their guidance: Lauri, for being my partner in crime and editor - if it wasn't for her, this story could never have been possible. Danie, for reading it when I made her, and telling me what she really thought; Cait for her forgiveness and friendship, inspiring me to write it, helping to give some of the characters their personalities, and encouraging me to publish it; Ms. Oliphant for encouraging my creative writing and works with fiction; finally, Tamora Pierce for creating the world of Tortall in which I base this story. Tortall, King's Reach, Corus and any/all other references to Tamora Pierce's books are property of her.

-j.n.


	2. Chapter 1

It was a warm day in May ****

~Chapter 1~ 

It was a warm day in May. Leaves were budding, birds were chirping, and the air was fragrant with freshly bloomed flowers. Raquel lay on her stomach, watching a ladybug rest precariously on the tip of a blade of grass. She sighed contentedly. With the approach of her tenth birthday, only less than a month away, she knew that lazy days like this weren't going to last much longer. The day after her birthday, she was to leave King's Reach for the City of the Gods and begin her schooling in the lady's arts and train her Gift. Raquel didn't really want to leave King's Reach. She loved to run freely in the surrounding fields and climb trees in the forest, but at the City of the Gods she knew she would be constrained within the walls of a convent for the four years of her study. Shuddering, she rolled over onto her back. It was what all noble girls must do, and she knew she must not complain. After all, even her older brothers had performed their duty by going away when they turned ten to train to become valiant and revered knights of Tortall. 

Closing her eyes and letting the sun radiate warmth onto her face, she thought about her family. She wouldn't be sad to leave her father, Lord Delmar. In fact, it'd be almost liberating. Raquel knew that her father resented her for the sole reason that she was female and not another son. It wasn't like he didn't already have enough sons, she inwardly scoffed. The fourth of seven children, Raquel was the only girl, which meant that her mother would miss her severely. Marjorie had wanted another daughter, but had continued to produce only sons. As a result, she was incredibly protective and sometimes overbearing. She passionately hated being under the control of another. Sometimes, she'd watch birds fly overhead and wish that she could somehow sprout wings and join them to whichever destination they were headed. 

Suddenly, something slobbery and furry was on top of her, licking her face and brushing its tail excitedly against her leg. She jumped up and screamed, her reverie suddenly interrupted. Excitedly circling her was one of the dogs and someone was laughing at her.

"Anthony!" she shrieked, seeing her brother standing 10 yards away. "You're home!" She ran to greet him, and he swept her up in a giant bear hug. She clung to him tightly, breathing in his familiar musk of sweat, leather and orange. He kissed her cheek lightly. 

"When did you get home?" she asked when he placed her back on the ground. Anthony was 12 years old and a page at the palace in Corus. 

"About an hour ago Ian and I both returned. We had to report to our father first." Anthony frowned, thinking about their Lord father, and the dark cruelty he usually incurred. 

"I'm sorry, Anth." Raquel quickly changed the subject. "How long will you be here? For my birthday, I hope?" She smiled at him sweetly, and Anthony laughed, his dark blue eyes crinkling at the corners. 

"Ian and I'll both be here until the end of July, so we'll be able to see you off to the City of the Gods."

Raquel smiled, trying to hide her inhibitions about leaving. She didn't want anyone, not even her wonderful older brother who understood and empathized with everything, to know that she dreaded leaving King's Reach. Especially not Anthony, who feared their father as much as she did. 

"I'm glad. It would be the worst thing, if I had to leave and not see either of you." They started walking back toward the castle, a sprawling and elegant fortress that was indicative of the extreme wealth of King's Reach. 

"I don't think that Louis will be here, though." 

Raquel shrugged. The oldest and most enigmatic of the 7 children, Delmar Louis VI, had been living amongst the Bazhir since being knighted more than a year ago. "That's okay," she said taking Anthony's hand in her own. "As long as you and Ian are here, it'll make leaving a whole lot easier." 

Anthony stopped and looked at her. "Do you dread leaving?" Concerned. 

Raquel inwardly cursed for letting her guard slip. "I…I don't know, Anthony. I just don't know what to expect, that's all. Except for the time we visited Grandpa and Nana at Trebond, I've never left King's Reach before." 

Her brother smiled kindly at her. "I had never left King's Reach before I went to the palace to become a page, and everything was fine. You'll see that you have nothing to worry about." 

"But you had Ian and Louis to tell you what to expect. I have no one. And I'll know no one, either."

Anthony laughed. "Are you trying to tell me that my friendly and loving sister, the one who has all of the kitchen servants wrapped around her little finger, is going to have trouble making new friends?" He reached down and gently tickled her side.

Raquel giggled. "Anthony! Stop! I'm not scared. Everything will be fine, I'm sure it will."

"That's what I want to hear, Raquel. No one from King's Reach is scared of anything. If anything, the world should be afraid of King's Reach!" He grabbed her hand again. "C'mon, let's go see Ian. I'll bet he's excited to see you." 

********

The castle of King's Reach was enormous. Some would even say that it was a palace, grand enough to rival the royal palace in Corus. There were some 450 rooms, 300 fireplaces, and 12 grand staircases.

The Corganne family was one of the richest, noblest, and most powerful in Tortall. For generations, they had been leaders in trade, bringing in capital to earn the respect and envy of the realm. They also managed over a thousand acres of farmland, bringing them more agriculture-related income than any other fief in the kingdom. Of course, the family was not the one to till the soil. Lord Delmar employed those who lived on the land to work it as well. 

They found Ian polishing his boots in his bedchamber. Fifteen years old, he was tall for his age, with curly black hair that he tied back into a horse's tail, and a large nose with which the rest of his facial features had yet to catch up. Raquel jumped up behind him on the bed where he was sitting and tackle hugged him. He grunted as she pinned him against the bed and the boot he was polishing flew out of his hands as she took him by surprise. 

Aren't they supposed to be teaching you to be a big bad knight in Corus?" Raquel giggled. 

"Look, you're letting a girl beat on you!" Anthony laughed. 

"Wanna…bet?" Ian grunted and pushed Raquel off him, flipping her onto her stomach and twisting her arm behind her back. 

"Anthony!" she squealed. "Help!" 

"You got yourself into this all by yourself, now you have to get yourself out of it." 

"No!" She flailed her legs wildly. 

"Kicking your legs like that isn't going to help you much." Ian laughed at her.

"Let me go!" 

"No!"

"Ian!" She screamed as loud as she could but the only response was the laughter of her brothers. Moving her free hand, she punched Ian in the belly, forcing a gasp of surprise to escape from his mouth. He let her go, and she sat up, her hair in disarray. 

"Where'd you learn to do that?" He clutched his stomach, looking at her with curious green eyes. 

Raquel grinned sweetly at him. "From you, Brother, who else?" He stared at her, saying nothing. "You should've made sure that I couldn't move my other hand!" She waved it at him tauntingly. 

"You little twerp!" Ian lunged for her again, but she moved out of the way. 

"I thought you'd be happy to see me, Ian. Aren't you?"

"I'll be happy to see you when I pay you back for your little surprise jab in my stomach." He grabbed her foot and ripped off her leather slipper. 

"What are you doing?" She tried to squirm out of his grip. Ian lightly rubbed his finger up and down the sole of her foot. 

"Are you still ticklish?"

Raquel shrieked. "Anthony! Please! Make him stop!" 

Anthony cackled from where he watched. "Whatever you say, Sister." He pounced on top of Ian and wrestled him off of Raquel. Ian yelled. 

"What are you doing, dimwit?" 

"When our sister asks for help, I'm inclined to do so, especially if it involves walloping on you." 

"Who says you can wallop me?"

"I beat you in wrestling every time!"

"Do not!"

Anthony pinned him. "See? Every time." He flashed a malicious grin at his sister. "I'm going to hold him Raq. What are you going to do?" 

Raquel giggled. "Are you still ticklish, Ian?" 

"No! Don't!"

Raquel grinned. "Watch me." She and Anthony laughed as their older brother squirmed on the bed under their hold and Raquel teased him with her fingers, finding the spots under his arms, behind his knees, and above his waist that she knew would be most torturous. Suddenly a voice interrupted their game of mischievous fun. The three looked up, their eyes wide with innocence. 

"What's going on in here?" Rutha, one of the nurses, stood in the doorway, her hands on her hips, her gray eyes stern. "I ought to have all of you in the kitchen doing chores." 

"Sorry, Nurse, it won't happen again." Anthony let up his hold on Ian.

Rutha rolled her eyes. "If I had a Noble for every time one of you told me that, I wouldn't have to work here anymore." 

"No, it's true this time." Ian nodded his head earnestly, his face bright red and streaked with tears of torture. Raquel jumped up and hugged their nurse. 

"We love you, Rutha." She smiled brightly into the tender face of the woman who tried to be a tough disciplinarian, but was never quite successful. "Please don't make us do kitchen work. Ian and Anthony just got back, and they're so tired from their journey." 

Rutha sighed and raised an eyebrow. "They didn't look that tired about two minutes ago."

"But they are!" Raquel exclaimed.

"What if just you worked and did enough chores to make up for your brothers?"

"Oh, Rutha. They'll just die if they don't get to play with me. I have to leave in a month you know, and who knows when they'll get to see me again." 

The old nurse tried to hide a smile. "Well, I suppose that if you are going to create such pandemonium, children, you should make it outside before your father makes it his business to end it." 

"Yes, Rutha. Anything you say." Raquel kissed the woman's weathered face, heavily creased with years of hard work and worry. Rutha hugged her back. 

"Oh, child. I don't know how you do it." She turned and chuckled to herself as she walked away, down the stone corridor of the hall. 

"C'mon, let's go outside." Ian got off the bed. "It's too nice of a day to be in here anyway." He slipped his boots back on his feet. The three made their way outside, quietly tiptoeing past their father's den, where they knew he'd be, working. Work was all he ever did.

Outside, the sun still shone brightly; the day was turning into evening as it began to make its journey to the other side of the horizon. They raced each other to their favorite place, an orchard of apples. The flowers of the fruit were blooming; some of the petals had drifted to the ground, sprinkling the grass with a layer of white. Raquel dove onto her stomach, Ian and Anthony sat down beside her. 

"We'd die if we didn't get to play with you?" Ian looked at Raquel with an incredulous look. "You are so full of it! You'll say anything to get out of chores, won't you?" 

"No more wrestling, okay?" Anthony slipped off his boots.

"What's the matter?" Ian grinned at him. "Don't think you can beat me again?"

Anthony shrugged, turning his boot upside down and shaking it, trying to empty it of a bothersome pebble. "Whatever." Ian decided to drop the subject and shifted his attention to Raquel.

"How has home life been?"

"The usual. Father yells at everyone, goes on a trip, comes home, and yells some more. Marc and Seth follow me around everywhere, always wanting to play war. They don't understand that I don't _want_ to play with them."

"Why don't you want to play with them?"

"Because they're little kids! I'm almost ten, and that means that I'm almost grown up. Marc still plays with his pet rocks." 

Anthony laughed. "What makes you think that we want to play with you? You're just a little kid to us."

Ian elbowed him. "Us? What makes you think that I want you to follow me around all the time."

Anthony glared at him. "Because if it wasn't for me, you'd always be in trouble with Sir Tristan for all of your stupid pranks."

"If it wasn't for you, then I would've kissed the fair Lady Violette." 

Anthony snorted. "Maybe it's better that you didn't. I don't know why you would want to kiss that dog anyway. Her ears are bigger than the rest of her head and her hair hangs like she hasn't washed it in weeks."

Raquel giggled. 

"He's exaggerating," Ian snapped. "The only time he ever saw her, she'd been caught in a rainstorm and hadn't had time to fix her hair. I thought that she looked quite _fetching_ in her rain soaked state." 

"You can say whatever you want about that, but it doesn't explain the fact that her ears are bigger than any other girl's at Court." 

"You want me to hit you?"

"Go ahead and try. I'll just beat you again."

Ian lifted his hand warningly as Raquel interrupted their discourse. "What's it like at Court? What are the ladies like?"

Ian grinned, a cocky look on his face. "They're all beautiful in their silk gowns and jewelry, they smell nice, and they all want the I-man." 

Scoffing, Anthony rolled his eyes. "Give me a break. Just because you're the best fencer of all the squires, does _not_ mean that all the ladies want you. Only the ugly ones like you." He snickered. "And you only like the ugly ones back!"

"How do you even know what you're talking about? You don't even like girls yet."

"That's not true!"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that girl squire who follows you around. Is she your little girlfriend? What's her name again? Lillian?"

"Her name is Lindsay, and she's _not_ my girlfriend!"

"Ballocks, would the two of you quit bickering? I wanted to know about the girls at court, not why they don't like Ian." Raquel snapped at them. She got up and began to climb one of the trees. "Good Goddess," she muttered under her breath. 

"Sorry, Raquel," Ian said ruefully. "What do you want to know?"

"I want to know what sort of dresses they wear," she said dreamily, swinging her legs from the branch on which she had settled herself. "And how they do their hair. And how they dance. Do all the men love them? How young are they?"

Her brothers laughed at her. "You may be able to punch like a boy, but you're still a total girl, Raq," Ian said with a grin.

"Raquel," Anthony told her, "when you finally come to Court, none of them will even compare to you." 

"And if they do, you know that you'll be able to outdo them at wrestling," Ian said. 

She beamed. "Really?" 

"You know," Ian said thoughtfully, "maybe you could convince Father to let you come to the palace to be a page."

"I doubt it," Raquel scoffed.

"Yeah, why not?" Anthony asked. "Lots of noble girls are doing it these days. They say at the palace that more girls than in any other year in the past are in the knight-training program." 

"I already asked him if I could." She sighed. "He hated the idea. He hates me."

"It's not just you," Anthony said softly. "He hates me too, and everyone knows it." 

"Anth…" Ian said. "You know it's not true." 

Anthony turned away from him, his expression dark. "You don't know what it's like to be ignored and scorned by your father based on some stupid rumours…" He trailed off and forced a smile. "But we haven't answered Raquel's question yet."

Ian studied Anthony for a moment then averted his gaze to Raquel. "Right. Ladies at Court. All the wonderful, wonderful ladies."

Raquel rolled her eyes.

"He's not going to give you an unbiased opinion, so I'll take the liberty of telling you all you want to know," Anthony said. "They're vicious, spoiled, and self absorbed, who will act benevolent, pious, and lady-like until they find a man whose mind they can control." 

Raquel raised her eyebrows in surprise, taken aback by Anthony's sudden exposure of cynical insight. He was in one of the dark moods that he always seemed to consume him when they spoke of their father's attitude. "They're not all like that, are they?" 

"For the most part. I hope that you don't end up like them when you come to Court." He glowered. "And they wear too much powder. I'm surprised that more people don't have allergies because of it."

"Anthony, stop it." Raquel frowned. He looked down at his hands, hiding his expression from his brother and sister. 

"I'm sorry," he said, looking up again. He smiled meekly. "I'm being unfair. I don't really know anything about the girls at Court, yet. I don't get to start attending functions until I'm a Squire."

"No, Anthony. In a way you're right," Ian said. "Some of the ladies aren't very nice people. But a lot of them are good, too." He paused. "And it's not like you haven't had your chance to observe." The two exchanged a look with a meaning that Raquel didn't understand. 

"I simply cannot wait until I'm allowed to go to Court, and a handsome knight will sweep me off my feet, and we'll get married, and live happily ever after." Raquel sighed again.

"You've been reading too many fairy tales." Ian grinned at her.

"No, it'll happen to me. Why shouldn't it? Dreams can come true."

"Not always." Anthony frowned, the sullen look cast upon his eyes again. The bells chimed, echoing throughout the valley, signaling that the family was to convene tonight for supper. Ian and Anthony slowly rose, and Raquel jumped from her perch in the tree.

"This is random," Anthony muttered. "Has he been doing this a lot lately?"

Raquel frowned. She hated family dinners. "No. You know he cares more about himself than us. Something important must be going to happen." 

"We haven't even been out here that long." Ian sighed.

"It's getting dark out. Probably time to be heading back in anyway," Anthony said pragmatically. They hurried back inside to wash up for dinner. It was their father's rule that the family must be gathered in the dining hall for dinner fifteen minutes after the bells rang. 

Back in her bedroom, Raquel quickly changed out of her blue cotton summer dress that was meant for reckless adventuring, slipped into a velvet maroon one that was more appropriate for dinner, and washed her face and hands. Her father was very critical that everyone must be clean and presentable for family meals, and as with each of his other whims, all took care to ensure that he was satisfied. She smoothed her thick, curly hair as best she could and tied it into a white ribbon to match the trim on her dress, and hurried down to the dining hall. 

"Why are you late?" 

Lord Delmar scowled at her from his place at the head of the long table, made from a rich mahogany wood. The rest of the family, already gathered, avoided her eyes as she glanced around the room. She wasn't late, was she?

"You've already delayed dinner long enough," he barked at her before she had a chance to apologize. "Find your seat." 

"Yes sir." Quietly, Raquel slipped into a chair at the end of the table, next to Marc. Her mother, the Lady Marjorie, was wearing a flowing green silk robe, and sat at the head of the table opposite her father. The healers suspected that she was breeding again. 

The family ate in silence for endless minutes, a meal of roasted veal and goose with cranberry sauce, heavy for such a warm day. Raquel wondered again what her father's reason for a family dinner was. Looking around the table at the rest of her family, she slowly ate the foot that had been put in front of her. Not only did she detest veal, she wasn't even hungry.

Delmar was a peculiar man. A man of his middle fifties, Marjorie was quite some years his junior. They married when she was only a girl of 14 and he 32. He had been a knight in the King's Own, and held enormous favor at court. Already the Lord of an important fief, a brave warrior commended for his ability to fight, and a celebrated commander in battle, Marjorie's parents, the rulers of Trebond, and not too much older than Delmar himself, found him to be the finest potential husband for their eldest daughter. Once married, she seemed to constantly bear him children, although Anthony was of questionable legitimacy.

Raquel had first heard the rumors that Anthony's father was not Delmar when she was five. She'd overheard some of the kitchen hands speaking hushedly of Delmar's cruel treatment of the children and how it seemed he treated Anthony worse than the others. They attributed it to the fact that he was resentful of his wife's infidelities and that there was proof in that Anthony was so different in looks to the rest of the children. 

It was true. While the other children were dark haired and dark eyed, Anthony had fair hair and light eyes. But, his flaxen hair was a mass of ringlets, just like the others. 

Raquel had been quite taken aback when she overhead such preposterous hearsay. Of course Delmar was Anthony's father. Otherwise, he would not have been preparing to go to the palace like Louis and Ian had to be a page. Only noble children could do that, and if Anthony wasn't the son of Delmar, then he couldn't be a noble. Yet, after hearing what the kitchen hands had said about Anthony being a bastard, Raquel began to notice that indeed, Delmar did treat him differently. Not the same kind of different that he treated her because she was a girl, either, but he didn't take Anthony riding like he did the other boys, and if Anthony asked for a special privilage, he was usually denied. 

So, she asked her mother one-day if the rumors were true. The look of shock on Marjorie's face surprised Raquel. 

"Do not trust what the servants say. They know nothing of noble familial business. Anthony is your brother, and he has the honorable Corganne name," she snapped. "That should be proof enough of his parentage. Your father is very proud to have strong sons like Anthony." She paused for a moment and regarded her daughter with emotionless emerald eyes. "Never speak of this again."

Anthony was aware of the rumours. Everyone was, except for the younger children. She wasn't quite sure how it affected him, except that his mood would change and became somber when they spoke of Delmar, just like it had in the orchard. She figured that he must be happier at the palace, away from his father, away from the rumours. 

And, it was true that he treated Raquel with indifference. She felt as though he could care less that she was his daughter, let alone his flesh and blood. Sometimes she didn't care. The less she had to deal with him, the easier her life was. It was hurtful, though, to practically be unacknowledged by her father, to have him ignore her when she talked to him, to be brushed aside as though she were a constant burden, always in the way. Like when she had asked him to allow her to go to Corus instead of the City of the Gods. He'd scoffed at her, told her that females, especially his females, would never be allowed to do such a thing and that she would go to the convent until he could be rid of her to a profitable suitor. He made marriage sound like a business deal. Then again, to him it was. She remembered the circumstances behind her parents' marriage and a shiver ran down her spine. 

Raquel focused her attention back to the family sitting around her. Sitting to her right was Marc. A sweet child two years her junior, he had an active imagination and a sharp mind. He had surprised her when she had tried to teach him to play chess, for he had already caught on while watching Anthony teach her. In a way, she was jealous of him for several reasons. Not only did he read as well as her, perhaps better, he had a stronger Gift, and the affections of their father, or a least the most that he ever lavished upon his children. Then again, he was the oldest boy at home. 

To the right of Marc was Seth, who was only five years old. When Delmar had the younger children tested a few months before, they had discovered that Seth had the most potentially formidable Gift of any of the children, including Louis, Ian, and Anthony (who had all tested positive for the Gift years before). Seth had to be watched closely, for when he had discovered that he could create fire, he nearly burned down the barn as he experimented on hay. Raquel stifled a giggle thinking about Seth, then a toddler, running back into the house proudly, ready to exhibit to anyone who would come watch, what he had done. It had given the horses quite a fright. 

She shifted her gaze directly across the table to Anthony, who, perhaps purposely, was seated as far away from Delmar as possible. To his left was Ian. At three, Vaughn was the youngest, thought to be too young to sit with the rest of the family, and was probably already asleep in the nursery.

"I suppose you all are wondering why I've called you all together tonight." Delmar took a bite of veal and continued his speech, much to the annoyance of Raquel, who found it greatly irritating that he talked with his mouth full of food. "I have several announcements. First, I would like to welcome Ian home from his studies at the palace." He nodded at his son, briefly flicked his eyes to Anthony and sighed. "Anthony as well." 

Raquel looked across at her sallow brother, trying to catch his eyes for an encouraging smile, but they were downcast, his head hung, and he was pushing his food around his plate with his fork. Delmar continued with praise of Ian's work. 

"I'm proud to share with you all that the report from the head of the knight program says that Ian has excelled at his book work and is one of the best fencers in the program." He smiled thinly behind his beard, which was gray and neatly trimmed. "Better than many of the older squires." 

Ian flushed and smiled weakly. "Thank you, Father." 

"That's not all the report said." Delmar was now frowning deeply. "It said that you're a weak wrestler, that you lose nearly every time. This is unacceptable. Your brother Louis was one of the best wrestlers during his days in training." He took another bite of his food. 

"Yes, Father, but he was also a poor swordsman," Anthony ventured, an attempt to come to his brother's defense. 

Delmar dropped his fork on his plate, the echo of metal hitting china echoing coldly through the still dining hall. "Did I ask for you opinion, boy?" 

"No, sir, I'm sorry." He looked at his lap.

"There was also some other news of concern." The father shifted his attention back to Ian. "More concern than that of the wrestling. Sir Tristan reports that you're a troublemaker. He says that he's caught you on numerous occasions playing practical jokes on your teachers and peers. Is this true, Ian? Are you a more interested, as Sir Tristan says," he gestured to a servant, who handed him a scroll of paper, and read "that you are 'at times more solicited to schemes of a mischievous nature than the learnings for which you were admitted?'"

Ian paused. "Well, um, sir, I…" 

"I did not send you to the palace to play games," Delmar yelled, furious. "You are there to bring honor to the Corganne name, not to waste time romping around with troublemakers from lesser fiefs. Perhaps if you spent less time lollygagging, you'd be a better wrestler." 

"I'm sorry, Father, I will try to do better." 

Delmar glared at him for a few moments, then glared at Anthony, but said nothing of his report. "The other reason I called this family together tonight is to announce that I have sent a letter to the King and Queen announcing that your mother is again with child."

A gasp of surprise came from the other end of the table. "I thought we were going to stall the announcement another month so we'd be sure I wasn't going to miscarry." Marjorie was frowned, her voice concerned and upset. 

Her husband shrugged. "I'd rather get it over with and announce it so we can carry on with our lives. It's not as though anyone will notice, nor care whether you miscarry again." 

Marjorie took in a sharp breath and bit her lip. Raquel could tell that her father's callous remark had hurt her. 

The servants were clearing away the dishes. "Finally, I will be leaving in a fortnight to Persopolis where I will attend business and visit Louis. I won't return until the end of June." 

Raquel sighed inwardly of relief and disappointment. He probably didn't even know that her birthday and departure dates were approaching; if he did, he obviously didn't care. Nonetheless, it meant that her last few weeks would be days of peaceful gaiety. 

Abruptly, Delmar shoved his chair away from the table, the screeching of its legs painfully echoing in the hall. "This dinner is over," he said coldly as he left the room. The dejected faces around her told her that she wasn't the only one whose evening had been ruined. 

"Children, you're free to leave." Marjorie twisted her silk napkin, her hands tense. Hurriedly, they rushed to obey, except for Seth, who tried to climb into her lap. "No, Seth, not now."

"Mama," he said, reaching his hand to touch her cheek. Marjorie turned her face aside and he grabbed onto her hair instead. 

"Ian," she called. "Come get your brother. Please." 

Ian came back into the room, doing as she bade. 

"Thank you." She held her left hand to her temple, her eyes closed, as if she was suffering from another one of the severe headaches from which she frequently ailed. 

"Goodnight, Mama." Raquel was anxious to leave, but was compelled to kiss her mother on the cheek first. 

Marjorie forced a smile, and looked at her daughter. Her emerald green eyes seemed to swim in suffocating pain. "Good night, Raquel," she whispered. "I love you."


End file.
